Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved freezing/perfusion microscope stage designed to control both the temperature and fluid environment of an object under magnification either simultaneously or in any desired sequence. The improved apparatus of this invention permits continuous viewing and allows movement and/or rotation of the object. The use of light microscopes to observe objects during physical transformation via temperature or fluid environmental change has long been an object of the scientific community but only recently has become a reality. The microscope stage of this invention combines elements for controlling both the temperature and fluid environments of the sample and allows movement of the object, all while under continuous observation.
For purposes of this application the term "object" is used to generically refer to the object being illuminated and/or magnified. This terminology is not intended to be limiting. Any object that is capable of being physically sized for placement in the microscope stage of this invention is suitable. The most preferred object of this invention is biological tissue. Other objects may be organic or inorganic, living or dead, growing, either in culture, in preservatives, in fluid or in any other physical state.
The terms "biological samples", "tissue samples", "tissue," "object" and "biological tissue" are used throughout this disclosure to refer to samples that can be treated in the microscope stage of this invention. The terms are used interchangeably and are not intended as a limitation on the functional capability of the apparatus disclosed herein. The terms should be understood to include small tissue samples appropriate for microscopic examination and larger tissue masses such as corneas which are appropriate for transplantation. The terms should be understood to include any material composed of one or more cells, either individual or in complex with any matrix or in association with any chemical; and to include any biological or organic material and any cellular sub-portion, product or byproduct thereof.
Thus, the contemplated utility of the apparatus of this invention is not limited to specific types or sizes of tissue, rather it should be understood to refer to any tissue made up of cells. The apparatus of this invention can be designed to accommodate any size, shape or type of cellular tissue or object. Therefore the terms "tissue," "tissue samples," "object," etc. are used interchangeably and are not limiting on the uses to which the method and apparatus of this invention can be placed.